Project Initiation in Sri Lanka
© UNESCO Trainees, Galle, Sri Lanka
Responding to the need to build regional capacity identified during the 2003 Asia-Pacific Regional Workshop, the Office of the Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific initiated a project under Norwegian Government's funding entitled "Safeguarding the Underwater Cultural Heritage of Asia and the Pacific: Building Regional Capacities to Protect and Manage Underwater Archaeological Sites through the Establishment of a Regional ‘Centre of Excellence’ Field Training Facility and Programme of Instruction".
The project started off with one training programme for Sri Lankan archaeologists and conservators, organized in Colombo and Galle, Sri Lanka, from 3 March to 10 April 2008.
The training activity started with a pre-course held at and organized by the teaching staff of the Marine Seaman Training Institute in Galle from 3-17 March, followed by a training course from 20 March to 10 April 2008. The training activity was intended to prepare the Sri Lankan Team of archaeologists and conservators for their future role as trainers in the regional field training centre in Galle, Sri Lanka.
A total of 14 trainees undertook the training programme, including seven from the Maritime Archaeology Unit, four from the Department of Archaeology, two from the Sri Lankan Navy and one from the Department of Museums. The three-week main course was facilitated by expert trainers, including two from Australia, two from Sri Lanka and one from India.
